GREAT CRISIS. — OBLIGED TO LEAVE THE TOWN. — MILITARY DEMONSTRATION.

There was now a fair opportunity offered me of leaving the town in an honourable way, under the protection of the friendly Kél-úlli, who for this very purpose had brought with them from the encampment my four camels; but the Sheikh missed this favourable occasion, by relying too much upon the promised arrival of the great Tawárek chief Alkúttabu. As for our friends the Tademékket, to whom Áhmed Wádáwi, the learned follower of the Sheikh, had been sent as a messenger, they did not come along with him, but sent word that they would follow him as soon as their presence was required; their chief Áwáb having gone to raise tribute from the degraded tribe of the Idélebó.

Uncertain as my situation was under these circumstances, I felt cheered by the not very improbable chance of my departure; for at length the last cause which had delayed me so long seemed to be removed, by El Bakáy’s wife giving birth to a child on the 4th of March. All political as well as domestic circumstances therefore seemed to conspire in rendering it possible for him to accompany me for the distance of some days; and he had really assured me the night before, when I was engaged in a consultation with him till near morning, that I should leave on the following Tuesday; but, having had too much insight into his dilatory character, I told him very plainly that I did not believe a word of it, as he had disappointed me so often. And I had reason to be satisfied with my scepticism, as the phantom of the “tábu,” or the great army of the Tawárek, with whose assistance he hoped to triumph over his enemies, did not allow him to adhere to any fixed plan. Now the “tábu” was really approaching; and it was merely some unforeseen circumstance, probably owing in part to the machinations of the party publicly or secretly opposed to the authority of the Sheikh, which prevented the great chief of all those westerly Tawárek from reaching Timbúktu, and crowning all the hopes and wishes of my protector.

It was in the afternoon of the 5th that we received undoubted news of the approach of the tábu, the shepherds seeking to secure their flocks by flight, and all those who had reason to fear the wrath or anger of their mighty liege lord endeavouring to reach the islands and creeks of the river as a place of safety. A messenger who arrived from Bamba, stated that the tábu had really reached the town of Égedesh, a few miles beyond Bamba; nay, even the state of the atmosphere seemed to confirm the news of the approach of a numerous host, as it was entirely enveloped in thick clouds of dust. But the Sheikh was a little too rash in sending, on the 6th, a message to El Férreji, giving him official information of the arrival of Alkúttabu. That officer answered, in a manly way, that he must not think of frightening him, and that he himself, if necessary, was fully able to summon an army from Fermágha and from Dár e’ Salám, the capital of the province of Jimbálla on the other side of the river; that he had come to drive me out of the town, and that he would at any cost achieve his purpose; and although the Sheikh’s rival, Hammádi, seemed to be frightened, and came to sue for peace, yet Sídi Mohammed was wearied with his brother’s continual procrastination, and from that day forward did all in his power to make me leave the town under any condition, and banish me to the tents.

There is no doubt that, in the event of the “tábu” not arriving, the Sheikh’s situation became more dangerous in consequence of the arrival of his brother ʿAbidín, who entered the town amidst a demonstration of firing and music on the afternoon of the 7th. All the three brothers went out on horseback to meet him; but this man, who was bent upon following a policy entirely opposed to that of El Bakáy, took up his quarters with Hammádi, the adversary of the latter. Even the eldest brother was so little satisfied with the Sheikh’s present policy, that, when I called upon him about midnight of that same day, a very serious conversation arose between the two brothers, Sídi Mohammed asking El Bakáy whether they were to fight the Fullán on account of a single individual, and one too of a foreign religion; and reproaching him at the same time with the fact, that his preparations did not advance, while on his part he did not think any preparations were necessary at all, as he was sure that not even the tribe of the Igwádaren, who are settled near Bamba, would do me any harm. But the Sheikh endeavoured to gain time, by telling his brother that he would send the following day for the horses from Kábara, and that he would write a letter to some chiefs on the road through whose territory I had to pass.

Having been a quiet spectator of this dispute I returned to my quarters, and in order to provide against any accident I packed up the remainder of my luggage, and made everything ready for starting. Meanwhile, Sídi Mohammed and Álawáte, in order to further their plans, had the same afternoon an appointment with ʿAbidín and Hammádi, where they probably determined as to the course to be pursued with regard to me: and El Bakáy, who went the same evening to pay a visit to ʿAbidín, seemed to have given a kind of half promise that I should leave in the afternoon of the 10th. But having obtained a short respite, in the course of the following day, he delayed my departure from day to day, expecting all the time the arrival of Alkúttabu.

Meanwhile, Sídi Mohammed had made a serious attack upon my religion, and called me always a káfir. But I told him that I was a real Moslim, the pure Islám, the true worship of the one God, dating from the time of Adam, and not from the time of Mohammed; and that thus, while adhering to the principle of the unity, and the most spiritual and sublime nature, of the Divine Being, I was a Moslim, professing the real Islám, although not adopting the worldly statutes of Mohammed, who, in everything that contained a general truth, only followed the principles established long before his time. I likewise added, that even they themselves regarded Plato and Aristotle as Moslemín, and that thus I myself was to be regarded as a Moslim, in a much stricter sense than these two pagan philosophers. I concluded by stating that the greater part of those who called themselves Moslemín did not deserve that name at all, but ought rather to be called Mohammedán, such as we named them, because they had raised their prophet above the Deity itself.

Being rather irritated and exasperated by the frequent attacks of Sídi Mohammed and Álawáte, I delivered my speech with great fervour and animation; and when I had concluded, Sídi Mohammed, who could not deny that the Kurán itself states that Islám dates from the creation of mankind, was not able to say a word in his defence. As for El Bakáy, he was greatly delighted at this clear exposition of my religious principles, but his younger brother, who certainly possessed a considerable degree of knowledge in religious matters, stated, in opposition to my argument, that the Caliphs, El Harún and Mʿamún, who had the books of Plato and Aristotle translated into Arabic, were Metʿazíla, that is to say, heretics, and not true Moslemín; but this assertion of course I did not admit, although much might be said in favour of my opponent. At all events, I had obtained some respite from the attacks of my friends; and having thus the support of them all, in the afternoon of the following day, the 10th of March, we went quietly to the tents in order to celebrate the “Sebúwa” (corresponding to the baptism of the Christians) of the new-born child. On this occasion I noticed that the water in the outlying creeks which we passed had only fallen about three feet since the 17th of February, which is less than two inches per day; but it is probable that the water of the principal branch decreases more rapidly than that of these winding backwaters.

The camp was full of animation, the Gwanín el Kohol, a section of the Bérabísh, having taken refuge in the encampment of the Sheikh from fear of the Kél-hekíkan, with whom they were on hostile terms. It was highly interesting for me to be thus brought into close contact with these people, who owe allegiance to the chief that had murdered Major Laing; and well aware that I could not fail to entertain a strong prejudice against them, they all thronged round me on my arrival, and hastened to assure me of their friendly disposition. They were armed with double-barreled guns, a weapon which, owing to the trade with the French, is now common through the whole of this part of the desert, the long single-barreled gun, the only favourite weapon with the Arabs to the north, being here regarded with contempt as befitting only the slave. In general, the people were of middle stature, although some of them were fine tall men and of a warlike and energetic appearance, having their shirts, mostly of a light blue colour, tied up over their shoulder and girt round the waist with a belt, the powderhorn hanging over the shoulder, quite in the same style as is the custom of their brethren nearer the shores of the Atlantic. Their head was uncovered, with the exception of their own rich black hair, or guffa, which, I am sorry to add, was full of vermin.

The same evening, although it was late, my host, who was certainly not wanting in hospitality, slaughtered five oxen, and in consequence we partook of supper about an hour after midnight. But that was not at all unusual here; and nothing during my stay in Timbúktu was more annoying to me, and more injurious to my health, than this unnatural mode of living, which surpasses in absurdity the late hours of London and Paris.

Early the next morning two more head of cattle were slaughtered, and enormous quantities of rice and meat were cooked for the great numbers of guests, who had flocked here together from the town and from all parts of the neighbouring district. Amidst such feasting the name of Mohammed was given to the new-born infant. The way in which the guests dealt with the enormous dishes, some of which were from four to five feet in diameter, and could only be carried by six persons, bore testimony to the voracity of their appetites; one of these immense dishes was upset, and the whole of the contents spilt in the sand.

But the people were not long left to enjoy their festivity, for just while they were glutting themselves a troop of Kél-hekíkan, the tribe who waged the bloody feud with the Gwanín, passed by, throwing the whole encampment into the utmost confusion. When at length it had again settled down, the festivities proceeded, and Mohammed el ʿAísh, with some of his countrymen from Tawát, rode a race up the slope of the downs towards the tents, firing their guns at the same time; but altogether the exhibition was rather shabby, and some of the men were very poor riders, having probably never been on horseback before, as they were natives of the desert where the camel prevails. The inhabitants of Timbúktu, who possess horses, are continually pestered with the request to lend them to strangers; and, with regard to these animals, a sort of communism prevails in the town; but they are of a very poor description, only the Sheikh himself possessing some good horses, brought from the Gibleh, or Western quarter of the desert.

The Kél-hekíkan formed also a subject of anxiety to us in the evening, and, after a long and tedious consultation, it was decided to send some people to watch the movements of those freebooters. Having been met with, they declared they should feel satisfied if the Sheikh would consent to deliver up to them the person who had first slain one of their companions, for this had been the beginning of the feud with the Gwanín, although the murderer belonged to the Túrmus, and not to that other tribe which had taken up the quarrel. In consequence of these feudal relations I had an interesting conversation with the Sheikh, and Fandaghúmme, one of the chiefs of the Tademékket who had likewise come to join this festival, about the “fedʿa,” or the price of blood, many of the Tawárek tribes refusing to accept any fedʿa, but peremptorily requiring bloodshed. I have already mentioned these freebooters, the Kél-hekíkan, on a former occasion; and it is remarkable, that this very tribe, which at present is most distinguished by its lawless and sanguinary habits, and which in consequence of the almost uninterrupted state of warfare in which they are engaged, was at the time reduced to about forty full-grown men, exhibits the finest specimens of manly vigour and stately appearance which are to be found in this whole region.

Notwithstanding the importance which the day possessed for my protector, the stay in the camp, deprived as I was of books or any other source of amusement, and of even the smallest European comfort, became more and more tedious to me. My material privations also were not few, especially as I had not even taken coffee with me this time, so that I had nothing to refresh myself with in the early part of the morning. However, I tried to pass my time as cheerfully as possible, and took some interest in the appearance of a man who had likewise come out to enjoy the hospitality of the Sheikh. This was the sheríf Múláy Isay, who, on account of his white skin, was almost suspected by the natives to be of European origin. In the course of the day the Sheikh showed me some rich gold trinkets belonging to his wife, manufactured in Waláta; and this was almost the only time that I had an opportunity of inspecting these gold ornaments. They formed a sort of diadem: and I understood my host to say that he wanted to have a similar one made for Queen Victoria, which, however poor in itself, I assured him would be valued by the English as a specimen of their native industry.

The stay in this place became the more disagreeable, as a high wind raised thick clouds of dust, and the leathern tent, in which Fandaghúmme was staying, was blown down, and I was therefore rather glad when, in the evening of the 13th, we returned into the town. Here, again, the news of the arrival of the “tábu” was a second time reported, and everybody again thrown into a state of excitement; the Ergágeda, a tribe of Arabs or Moors, moving to and fro, while all the poor degraded tribes in the neighbourhood, together with their herds of cattle and their flocks of sheep, fled again for refuge to the encampment of the Sheikh, such as the Kél e’ Sheríʿa, the Kél-antsár, the Ídenán, and the Kél-úlli. My protector himself was again to return to the tents on the morning of the 15th, when a serious business arose, the Fullán insisting with great pertinacity that I should leave the town this day, or else they would certainly kill me; for they would rather, they said, that the “tábu” should annihilate them all, than that I should remain a day longer in the town.

Next morning the Fullán and the merchants from the north assembled in the house of Mohammed el Férreji, and discussed with great energy what means they should adopt to drive me out, binding themselves by an oath that I should not see the sun set over the town. The officer Hámedu, the son of Mohammed Lebbo, even went so far as to rise in the assembly and swear that he himself would certainly slay me if I should stay any longer. The alarm which this affair caused in the town was very great, although matters of this kind in Negroland are never so serious as in Europe. Álawáte, therefore, being informed of what was going on, entered the assembly and made a formal protest that I should see both sunset and sunrise in the town, but he pledged his word that I should leave it before the sun reached that height called dáhhar (about nine o’clock in the morning) by the Arabs, and if I remained after that time they might do what they pleased with me.

March 17th.I had lain down rather late, and was still asleep, when Sídi Mohammed, before sunrise, sent word to me to mount in order to follow him out of the town; and he behaved very unpolitely when objections were raised to the effect that it would be better to wait for El Bakáy. Soon after he came up himself on horseback before my door, sending one of his brother’s principal and confidential pupils, whom I could scarcely expect to do anything contrary to the wishes of his master, to bid me mount without further delay, and to follow him to the “ródha,” or the sepulchre of Sídi Mukhtár, where El Bakáy would join us. Seeing that I had nothing to say, while as a stranger I could neither expect nor desire these people to fight on my account, I mounted, fully armed, and with two servants on horseback followed Sídi Mohammed on his white mare.

All the people, in the streets through which we passed, cautiously opened their doors to have a peep at me. The ruling tribe also were not inactive; and they had mounted several horsemen, who followed close upon our heels, and would probably have made a demonstration if we had halted at the “ródha.” But my conductor, instead of staying there, as I had been made to believe, led on straight to the tents. Numbers of Tawárek families, carrying their little property on half-starved asses, met us on the road, flying westward, and confirming the fact that the approach of the tábu was not merely an idle rumour. The encampment also, which had been chosen at another spot, presented a very animated scene, a large hamlet, consisting of matting dwellings, or seníha, inhabited by the Kél-úlli and the Ígelád, protégés of the Sheikh, being closely attached to it. The consequence was, that although the whole locality, formed by a sandy ridge with a slight depression full of trees, presented a more cheerful aspect than the former encampment, by degrees it became rather narrow and confined. Having received the compliments of my new friends, I endeavoured to make myself as comfortable as possible; but not much repose was granted me, for, about three o’clock in the afternoon, Mohammed ben Khottár, the Sheikh’s nephew, arrived with a verbal and peremptory message from the former to his elder brother, Sídi Mohammed, to the effect that the Fullán were about to storm my house in the town, in order to seize my luggage which I had left there; and desiring him instantly, and without the slightest delay, to bring me back, as all these proceedings were the consequence of his (Sídi Mohammed’s) indiscretion.

Roused by this angry message, the noble son of the desert repented what he had done to the detriment of his brother’s interest, and calling together by strokes of the tobl, or great drum, which hung ready on the top of the sandy slope, all the people capable of carrying arms, he mounted his mare, with his four-barreled gun before him, while I, with my two servants, followed behind.

Thus it appeared as if I was destined once more to enter Timbúktu, and this time under very warlike circumstances. We went at the beginning at such a rate, that it seemed as if we were about to storm the place directly; but on reaching the first creek of the river we made a short halt, while my Mohammedan friends said their prayers, and at last came to a stand on an eminence, whence we sent a messenger in advance. Sídi Álawáte came out of the town to meet us. Meanwhile darkness set in, and we again halted on another eminence in sight of the town, and sent a second messenger to the Sheikh. We were joined after a while by the people from Tawát, who informed us that El Bakáy had left the town with a numerous host of followers, but that they themselves did not know whither he was gone. Messengers were therefore despatched to endeavour to find him.

In the meanwhile the Tawárek whom we had with us, beat their shields in their usual furious manner, and raised the war-cry; the night was very dark, and I at length fired a shot, which informed our friends of our whereabouts. We found the Sheikh close to the town south of the “ródha,” with a large host of people, Tawárek as well as Arabs, Songhay, and even Fullán. The Fútáwi, Ismʿaíl, who from his knowledge of colonial life in St. Louis or Ndér, afforded me a constant source of entertainment as well as vexation, welcomed us with a song, and all the people gathered around us in motley confusion. The spectacle formed by this multifarious host, thronging among the sand-hills in the pale moonlight, was highly interesting, and would have been more so to me, if I could have been a tranquil observer of the scene; but, as I was the chief cause of this disturbance, several of my friends, especially the Imám, Háj el Mukhtár, whom I had known in Bornú, made their way to me, and begged me to beware of treachery. The Sheikh himself despatched his most trustworthy servant to inform me that I had better keep in the midst of the Tawárek, whom he himself thought much more trustworthy than the Arabs. The Kél-úlli forthwith formed a square round me, but at the same time made a joke of it, trying an experiment as to the warlike disposition of my horse, by pushing against me with one side of the square, while beating their shields, till, being thrown back upon the other side, I spurred my horse and drove them to their former position. Excited by this animated scene, my noble charger, to the great amusement of this turbulent host, began to neigh from sheer delight.

Meanwhile the brothers had dismounted, together with their trusty councillors, and were wasting the time in useless consultation, while some Fullán horsemen were roving about and kept me on my guard; but one of them was dismounted against his inclination. His horse received a wound either from the stump of a tree or from a spear, and thus he remained the sole victim of this glorious and memorable night’s campaign.

At length, having moved to and fro for some time, we approached the outskirts of the Áberaz, and there took up our position. But the Fullán and Songhay, who had likewise assembled at the beating of the alarm drum, being arranged in front of us, notwithstanding their cowardly disposition, it did not seem likely that we should be allowed to get inside the town without bloodshed, and I protested repeatedly to the Sheikh, that nothing was more repugnant to my feelings, than that blood should be shed on my account, and perhaps his own life be endangered.

Meanwhile numerous messengers were sent backwards and forwards, till my protector and host, whose feelings had been deeply wounded, declared that he would allow me to remain outside the town, if the Fullán would withdraw their force so as to put every thing in his own hands, and would promise to leave my house untouched. And he strictly kept his word; for, while he himself entered the place with Álawáte, he allowed me to return to the tents in the company of his elder brother. We did not arrive at the encampment before three o’clock in the morning, for we lost our road in the pale moonlight, and became entangled among the numerous creeks of Bose-bángo, while we suffered at the same time greatly from hunger, and the coolness of the night. Such was the sole result of this night’s campaign.

The following day we received the news from an Urághen, who arrived from the east, of the tábu having returned eastward, in consequence of a serious quarrel having broken out between the tribes of the Tarabanása and the Tin-ger-égedesh, who composed part of the army; and in consequence of the obstinacy of Ákhbi, the chief of the Igwádaren, who had refused to acknowledge the authority of his liege lord, and to come forth from his place of retreat, the island of Kúrkozáy, in order to do homage to Alkúttabu. The ruling tribe of the Awelímmeden gave vent to their anger by plundering the poor inhabitants of Bamba, or Kasbah, a place situated about half-way between here and Gógó. That dreaded host having retraced its steps, and thus disappointed the hopes of my protector, all the poor people who had put themselves under the protection of the Sheikh felt reassured, and again brought out their little property, which they had secreted in the various tents of the encampment. The Ígelád lagged a little longer behind, and in the evening assembled in considerable numbers before my tent in order to have a talk with me. On the whole they behaved very decently.

Seeing that I was now restricted to a stay in the encampment, I had sent my servant, the Gatróni, into the town in order to bring out my luggage. He returned in the evening without having accomplished his errand, but in the company of the Sheikh himself, who informed me that he did not wish the luggage to be brought out of the town before he was ready to accompany me himself on my journey, as he was afraid that his two brothers still wanted to get something more out of me than they had done. But as he had sworn in the first paroxysm of anger that he would at all hazards bring me back into the town, I told him, in order to console him, that I would once more re-enter the place in the dark, quite by myself, stay a short time in my house, and then return to the camp, in order that his oath might be fulfilled. But he would not allow me to expose myself to any danger on his account, as the rules of his creed made it easy for him to get rid of the obligation thus contracted against his conscience, by subjecting himself to the penance of a three days’ fast. He informed me now that the Fullán officer, Férreji, had accompanied him on leaving the town as far as the “ródha,” giving him every assurance of his friendship, and that thus everything would end well; and he hoped to obtain for me favourable conditions from the Fullán for any future European or Englishman visiting this place. Together with the Sheikh, Sídi Álawáte also had come out, and he behaved in a rather friendly manner to me, offering his services towards hastening my departure, which I gladly accepted, without however putting any confidence in him; for I was well aware that he liked my property better than myself.

Seeing that I was obliged to resign myself in patience, and had still to wait here some time, I sent one servant and two of my horses into the town. Since the waters had retired, the flies had become such a terrible plague, that they threatened the life of man and beast, and it was chiefly this nuisance that rendered my stay here so uncomfortable. It was likewise almost the ruin of the horse, which I was obliged to keep with me in case of any emergency. It is on account of this pest that none of the people of the desert, whose chief property consists in camels, are enabled to visit the town at this period of the year.

Not only flies, but other species of insects also, became now exceedingly abundant in this desert tract, after it had been inundated and fertilised by the waters of the river; and a countless number of caterpillars especially became very troublesome, creeping about the ground, and getting upon the carpets and mats and every other article. While thus the inconvenience of the open camp was manifold, my amusements were rather limited, and even my food was poorer than it had been before. The famous “rejíre” had been supplanted, from want of cheese, by the less tasteful “dakno,” seasoned, in the absence of honey, with the fruit of the baobab or monkey-bread tree. In the morning, however, it afforded me some amusement to observe the daughters of the Ígelád driving out to the pasture grounds their parents’ asses, and to witness the various incidents in the daily life of these people. But they were soon to leave, as well as the Kél-úlli, both tribes returning to their quarters further eastward.